Constitutional
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August 13, 2024
CONSTITUTIONAL ISSUES — Legal rights — Procedural rights — Trial within a reasonable time — Calculation of delay
Appeal by Tran from conviction for sexual assault following a judge-alone trial. Tran’s grounds of appeal all related to the dismissal of his pretrial s. 11(b) Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms (Charter) application for a stay of proceedings for unreasonable delay. The trial judge (judge) determined that the total time of 18 months and 19 days from charge to trial did not exceed the 18-month ceiling set out in Jordan case law, after subtracting 41 days for defence delay.
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August 12, 2024
New human rights chief ‘steps down’ following law firm probe of his history & hiring
Federal Justice Minister and Attorney General Arif Virani has accepted Birju Dattani stepping down as the chief federal human rights watchdog, following a report from an independent law firm that the recently hired head of the Canadian Human Rights Commission (CHRC), among other things, failed to disclose during the hiring process his sometime-use of an alternative name “Mujahid Dattani” on Twitter (now known as X) and in other public fora.
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August 12, 2024
Six First Nations file application challenging Ontario’s Mining Act as unconstitutional
Six First Nations have launched a court challenge against Ontario's Mining Act regime, charging that the province's free-entry mining system has been “flooded with newly registered mining claims” on lands that they govern, infringing on their treaty rights and Charter equality rights.
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August 09, 2024
‘Important to remember’ purpose of Ontario anti-SLAPP law is to weed out abusive proceedings: court
Ontario's highest court has sided with an anti-abortion group in its conflict with an activist who allegedly disrupted its operations, saying a legal challenge the organization brought against her does not constitute a strategic lawsuit against public participation (SLAPP).
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August 09, 2024
N.B. Crowns reach labour deal with province
A “catastrophic” situation has been avoided in New Brunswick now that its Crown prosecutors voted in favour of a new collective agreement with the provincial government.
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August 07, 2024
Commission amends storage terms for OPG's Pickering nuclear waste management facility
The Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission (CNSC) has granted a request by Ontario Power Generation's (OPG) to change the licensed storage terms for its Pickering Waste Management Facility (PWMF), despite opposition from First Nations.
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August 01, 2024
Appeal allowed in part relating to alleged discrimination on Air Canada flight
The Federal Court of Appeal has allowed an appeal in part, remitting a matter back to the Canadian Human Rights Commission to determine whether an international convention violates equality rights under the Charter, as the appellant alleged he faced discrimination on an Air Canada flight.
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August 01, 2024
Courts must cast an ‘eye to fairness’ in cases involving mental illness: legal mind
While courts are not “caretakers” for those with mental illness, they must still make sure “procedures are applied sensitively, contextually and with an eye to fairness,” says a legal mind after Nova Scotia’s highest court took the rare step of reopening the appeal of a man with schizophrenia who had shut it down.
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July 31, 2024
Federal political parties collecting sensitive voter data in a regulatory void, warns report
In a British Columbia courtroom this past May, the country’s three main political parties came together in common cause: to maintain unregulated access to sometimes sensitive voter information collected by a mushrooming industry of political consultants.
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July 30, 2024
Federal Court grants interlocutory injunction on CFIA guidelines impacting kosher meat production
The Federal Court has granted an interlocutory injunction in a case where a Jewish community group alleged that the Canadian Food Inspection Agency’s (CFIA) new rules infringed on their Charter rights by impacting the slaughter of kosher meat.